August 4: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got a big relief in the Supreme Court in the Modi defamation case. The Supreme Court stayed the verdict of the Surat court. As a result, Rahul Gandhi has a chance to regain the parliamentary seat.
Incidentally, on March 23, Judge HH Verma of Surat Magistrate’s Court in Gujarat sentenced Rahul to two years in jail for making offensive comments using Modi’s name in Kolar, Karnataka during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign. The judge granted bail to Rahul Gandhi in the criminal defamation case filed by former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA Purnesh Modi and gave him 30 days to appeal the verdict in the higher court. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, based on the verdict of the Surat Magistrate’s Court, dismissed Rahul as an MP under Article 102(1) of the Constitution of India and Article 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act (1951).
After this, Rahul filed an application in the Sessions Court of Surat on April 3 seeking a stay on his conviction and sentence. But on April 20, Additional Sessions Judge RP Mogera dismissed the plea and upheld the sentence. As a result, he lost the chance to regain the post of MP.
The Supreme Court had on July 21 issued a notice to complainant BJP leader Purnesh Modi and the Gujarat government following Rahul Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on the sentence. Both sides opposed the suspension of the sentence. On the other hand, Rahul’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi had alleged in the apex court that the case was in contempt of court.
The Supreme Court has stayed the sentence of March 23 given by the Surat court. A bench of Justice RS Gavai and Justice PK Misra on Friday stayed Rahul’s two-year jail sentence. As a result, the judgment of the Surat court in this regard is not effective for the time being. Along with that, the possibility of getting back the post of the dismissed MP Rahul has also been created.
A two-judge bench criticized the Surat court’s verdict, saying the Surat magistrate’s court could not show any rational reason why Rahul was awarded the maximum penalty of two years in jail in the criminal defamation case.
